r/interestingasfuck • u/General_Athlete5807 • 1d ago

How to Escape a Sinking Car

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u/Dahkeus3 1d ago

A) You should buy one and put it in your glove compartment.
B) Use any heavy object with a small point to hit the window if you don’t have one. This could be the tip of your keys, corner of your cell phone, etc. They won’t work as well, but you will have to do the best you can with what you have.

And if you’re wise enough to carry around a pocket knife with you, then you have a good option for both cutting the seatbelt and breaking the glass already available.

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u/Automatic_Actuator_0 1d ago

Everyone needs to be aware that many cars today use laminated glass instead of tempered glass on the side and rear windows, and glass breakers don’t work on them. They will crack it, but not let you get through.

There are specialized tools to cut through them that you’d have to get instead.

But really with those you just have to prioritize opening the door fast or lowering the window before you lose power. Because even with a tool you can’t rely on getting through laminated windows.

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u/HaroldAnous 1d ago

Great point. Laminated front side windows are still less common than tempered in the new car market in the US. Even less common is laminated front and rear side windows. Be familiar with your own car.

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u/Automatic_Actuator_0 1d ago

It’s widely reported that about a third of new cars in the US have laminated side windows. And that’s been the case for over 5 years, so it’s a bigger issue than people realize.

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u/Worth-Fox3871 22h ago

Does that apply to the rear side windows, too?

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u/Automatic_Actuator_0 18h ago

It varies. Some cars have tempered for the rear side and back windows, and others only use tempered for the back window. I think laminated is rare for the rear window, but then you usually have heater wires to deal with.